Flint Water Bottles.... Really???

First, it is a tragedy what happened in Flint. Horrible. My empathies are with the people who have and had to endure it.

But I saw about the 300th report of someone delivering 250,000+/- water bottles. Just now a CNN "on the ground" reporter said families are going through "hundreds of bottles of water per week."

To me that is sickening, and will result in only more pollution in the end. Why are they delivering water via MILLIONS of .5 liter plastic bottles? (And bragging about it!)

It's as if it looks better on camera than a water truck, or 5 gallon containers. I mean who cares what it took to make the plastic for all those bottles or where they will end up. It's a circus and contest about who can deliver, and get credit for, delivering the highest number of "bottles" of water. How about measuring it in gallons and not delivering it in the most inefficient format possible?

The limiting factor is not how much water can be donated, but how much of that water can be packaged up.

Anneheiser Bush donaates water in 12 oz cans because it can manufacture and fill 12 oz cans. manufacturing and filling 5 gallon bottles requires a different set of equipment.

On a long term basis, delivering water in specialized trucks is easier and more economical. But those trucks need to be ordered, built and delivered-- a process that takes more than a week or two. It's easier to program your breweries to water down the beer even more.

First, it is a tragedy what happened in Flint. Horrible. My empathies are with the people who have and had to endure it.

But I saw about the 300th report of someone delivering 250,000+/- water bottles. Just now a CNN "on the ground" reporter said families are going through "hundreds of bottles of water per week."

To me that is sickening, and will result in only more pollution in the end. Why are they delivering water via MILLIONS of .5 liter plastic bottles? (And bragging about it!)

It's as if it looks better on camera than a water truck, or 5 gallon containers. I mean who cares what it took to make the plastic for all those bottles or where they will end up. It's a circus and contest about who can deliver, and get credit for, delivering the highest number of "bottles" of water. How about measuring it in gallons and not delivering it in the most inefficient format possible?

Mike

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Similar to the migrant mania that took place. And the Apple supporting pile-on. It's Social. Get with the program.

The limiting factor is not how much water can be donated, but how much of that water can be packaged up.

Anneheiser Bush donaates water in 12 oz cans because it can manufacture and fill 12 oz cans. manufacturing and filling 5 gallon bottles requires a different set of equipment.

On a long term basis, delivering water in specialized trucks is easier and more economical. But those trucks need to be ordered, built and delivered-- a process that takes more than a week or two. It's easier to program your breweries to water down the beer even more.

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They don't need to be built and they could already be there. The National Guard has them.

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Right now, at this very minute, the National Guard should have tanker trucks full of clean, drinkable water set up in every neighborhood throughout Flint. And they should be going door to door, handing out large, wheeled containers so that people can easily transport water, whenever they want, from these trucks to their homes… Wouldn’t that be exponentially more efficient than shipping millions of tiny bottles across the United States, especially since we have ready access to fresh, clean water right here in Michigan?

As for what we get this water from, here’s an idea… Why don’t we just go directly to the source? Why don’t we instruct the National Guard to drive directly to the Ice Mountain facility in Mecosta and just back their trucks up. Instead of filling tiny Ice Mountain bottles with our water, and sending them off to stores to be bought and sent back to Flint, why not just fill the trucks directly, and cut out all of the wasted steps and the plastic?

The limiting factor is not how much water can be donated, but how much of that water can be packaged up.

Anneheiser Bush donaates water in 12 oz cans because it can manufacture and fill 12 oz cans. manufacturing and filling 5 gallon bottles requires a different set of equipment.

On a long term basis, delivering water in specialized trucks is easier and more economical. But those trucks need to be ordered, built and delivered-- a process that takes more than a week or two. It's easier to program your breweries to water down the beer even more.

My very liberal town in the Boston metro area wanted to institute a ban on all bottled water and switch to boxed water instead. They decided to hold off until off, from what I'm told, until more public drinking fountains are installed.

It costs 1.5-2x more money per box than standard water.

I was in Galway, Ireland on vacation in 2007. They had some sort of pathogen in the water making people very sick. You could not drink the water unless it had been boiled (not nearly as bad as flint). At the grocery stores they gave away liter sized plastic water bottles.

Honestly I doubt the environmental impact of bottled water is of major concern. Getting the water in the first place is really the issue.

When I was in the Army we things we chalked "water buffaloes". Just one could supply drinking water, portable shower for over two weeks sure my company said showers are every three days but the water was cool in a tropical South Pacific environment. They would be perfect in neiborhoods in this case.

When I was in the Army we things we chalked "water buffaloes". Just one could supply drinking water, portable shower for over two weeks sure my company said showers are every three days but the water was cool in a tropical South Pacific environment. They would be perfect in neiborhoods in this case.

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Did you have to walk up hill both ways without boots to get to them old timer

My very liberal town in the Boston metro area wanted to institute a ban on all bottled water and switch to boxed water instead. They decided to hold off until off, from what I'm told, until more public drinking fountains are installed.

I was in Galway, Ireland on vacation in 2007. They had some sort of pathogen in the water making people very sick. You could not drink the water unless it had been boiled (not nearly as bad as flint). At the grocery stores they gave away liter sized plastic water bottles.

Honestly I doubt the environmental impact of bottled water is of major concern. Getting the water in the first place is really the issue.

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If getting the water is a concern, why waste it bottling it? It takes nearly twice as much water to make the .5 liter plastic bottle than the water it holds (boxed water uses even more water). There are bottled water plants right in Michigan so it is not as if getting water to Flint is anything like getting water to Haiti in 2011. Yet, the Red Cross brought it in in trucks back then. In Flint they seem to be on the plastic water bottle bandwagon. .

Oh and that doesn't take into account the oil that is used to make the plastic bottles, nor the costs of disposal and recycling (which is far far less than 100%). So, yea, the environmental impact is actually big.

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